Aldi raises store assistant pay to £11 per hour

Aldi has revealed its plans to raise its starting pay for store assistants to £11 per hour nationally, and to £12.45 per hour within the M25 from 1 January 2023. 

It is reported that the new starting rate is over 15% higher than it was a year ago and represents a £81m “investment” in colleague pay in the last 12 months. 

In addition, the new rates are also higher than the real living wage that is set by the Living Wage Foundation. 

Aldi is also the only supermarket to offer paid breaks, which for the average store colleague is said to be worth an additional £871 annually.

Furthermore, the German supermarket chain also has plans to increase the rates of pay for thousands of logistics employees, with starting salaries of at least £10.90, in line with the real living wage. 

Aldi reportedly has a total of over 40,000 colleagues and more than 970 stores in the UK.

Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK&I, said: “Just as we promise Aldi customers that we will always offer the lowest grocery prices in Britain, we are committed to being the highest-paying supermarket for our colleagues. 

“We are incredibly proud of every single member of team Aldi, and are pleased to become the first UK supermarket to pay a minimum of £11 per hour to all store assistants, exceeding the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended real living wage.”